Could the answer to controlling two species of strawberry pests be microscopic worms?
Cornell entomologist Elson Shields thinks so. He’s been testing the effectiveness of native New York nematodes to control two species of weevils in northern New York strawberry crops this year.
Nematodes have already proved to be a successful treatment in beating back a highly-destructive alfalfa crop pest, and Shields has been performing field trials at Rulfs Orchards in Peru, N.Y., where weevil damage costs an estimated $20,000-$30,000 a year.
“Like alfalfa snout beetle, strawberry root weevil and black vine weevil are difficult to control with conventional pesticides, but they are very susceptible to attack by the biocontrol nematodes,” said Shields, who received an Entomological Society of America Award for Excellence in Integrated Pest Management in 2013.
As part of his research, which is funded by the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program, Shields will complete a series of soil tests to confirm the effectiveness of the nematodes for controlling the berry pests.
“Based on our years of experience with biocontrol nematodes, we expect to document an excellent level of control in the berry fields in May 2014. We also expect the nematodes to persist within the soil of the strawberry production environment for a number of years to continue to minimize the root damage by the root weevils,” Shields said.
